


You're Not Alone

by LeviApple22



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Ozai (Avatar) Being a Terrible Parent, Ozai (Avatar) is an Asshole, Protective Sokka (Avatar)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-26
Packaged: 2021-03-27 20:35:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30128499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeviApple22/pseuds/LeviApple22
Summary: Parent-student conferences week was hell for most students. Not Sokka though, he loved the praise he got from teachers. He just didn't think of the consequences these meetings could bring to some students. After witnessing Zuko Sozin and his father, Sokka felt the need to intervene.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 107





	1. Pheonix Prince

**Author's Note:**

> Idk why I suddenly envisioned them living in Seattle. Just a fic idea that popped into my head and I had to get it out.

It’s parent-student conference week and Sokka is beyond excited. He attends a fancy private school that does all these extra things to make sure their students are advancing in their academics. One of those things is the required parent-student meetings. Every student is forced to attend with their guardian or parent so that teachers can inform them of their student’s progress. And honestly, Sokka loved attending them.

In previous conferences, his teachers loved talking to his dads about what an intelligent son they had. It not only helped with his ego but it put his mind at ease when his dads showed how proud they were of him. Of course Sokka _knows_ they’re proud of him but sometimes he gets a little worried that he might be choosing the wrong future career plan or college choice. Seeing their pride confirms that he’s walking the right path. 

This year, it is especially important since it is his senior year. It’s his last ever parent-student conference ever. Sokka was going to be an adult soon. _A whole ass adult._

His appointment is only ten minutes away so he sits outside the school to wait for his dads to arrive. He chose an earlier appointment time since the evening appointments were always filled with parents who just got out of work. Plus his dads have to attend Katara’s meeting after his. 

“Sokka!”

He looks up and smiles as Bato and his dad get out of their car. Bato had raised him and Katara for nearly half their life. He married his dad four years ago making him their official second dad. 

“Let’s go, let’s go!” Sokka rushes them into the school and down the many hallways. The students got to choose whichever one of their teachers to lead the meeting and of course he had to choose Mr. Piandao. 

They made it outside of Piandao’s door exactly at 3pm, just as he finished up with another student. 

“Hello, Sokka. Come in, right this way,” Piandao says leading them to his desk at the back of the room. They sit down, his fathers on either side of him. The teacher looks through his various files on the desk before finally finding Sokka’s and displaying it in front of them. 

“So! Sokka has already sent his college applications off to these specific schools,” he points at a section on the paper, “and they will be sending their admission statuses in a few months from now. All Sokka has to do is keep his grades.

He’s doing an amazing job in all his STEM courses but he might need to put in a bit more effort in his AP English class. Right now he has a B- and it's extremely important to not let any grades fall,” Piandao says sternly. 

Sokka nods. He knows he’s been doing a bit of a horrible job in the class but he couldn’t help it! It’s a boring class and he could care less about what the author means by a black sky and so on. He knew, however, that his grades were one of the reasons why he was offered scholarships and he had to maintain his GPA. 

“Should we be worried? Will this impact his admissions?” Hakoda questions. 

“No, no! These aren’t his official grades. He still has a few months to raise it up but it’s good that he’s getting the reminder now when he has a B- compared to later if he has an F.”

His dad exhales in relief and gives him a _you better get that grade up_ look. He flashes him a thumbs up and they continue going over his file. 

“So Sokka, I’ve heard it a few times, and I’m sure your fathers have as well, but it’d be a good refresher to hear what your career plan is just in case anything has changed,” Piandao continues. 

“Only one thing has changed. I still hope I get accepted to the University of Washington since it's so close by. Hopefully the school of engineering will admit me as well. I’m just not sure if I want to continue down the marine engineering path but I definitely want to stay in the field,” Sokka says.

Piandao nods and writes it down on his notes. 

“Knowing the type of student you are, they’ll definitely accept you!” 

Sokka smiles and his dad pats him on the shoulder. 

“Well that’s about everything! He needs a few more volunteer hours to reach 200, if that’s something you’re interested in, Sokka. But other than that and your AP English grade, everything looks amazing,” he smiles. 

“Thank you so much, Mr. Piandao,” Sokka says. 

“Of course. If you do get accepted to the University of Washington, you should definitely volunteer here whenever you have some free time to help guide other students.”

He nods. They all get up and his dads’ shake hands with Piandao. Sokka shakes his hand last and they say their goodbyes before exiting the classroom.

“We’re so proud of you, son,” Hakoda speaks. Bato nods and pulls him in for a hug. 

“You really do make us proud. You’re doing such amazing things, kid,” and _he is not going to cry, stop it Sokka._

“Thanks to you guys! I promise I’ll raise my grade up, don’t even worry about that,” he brushes it off. Hakoda points a finger at him, “You better!”

“Well we have to go find Katara and go to her appointment soon. Do you want to wait for us to get out?”

Sokka shakes his head. _He doesn’t want to stay in this building any longer than he has to, thank you very much._

“I’ll see you guys at home,” he says and they walk the opposite way. He sits on one of the benches inside the building and texts Suki to see if she was still in the building. As he waits for a reply, he hears voices coming down the hall. 

He wonders who it is and if it was someone in his grade. He hears footsteps getting closer and his smile fades as he sees the familiar face besides the tall man. 

_Zuko Sozin._

The guy was heir to _Phoenix_ which was a billion dollar business that did about everything such as online stores, rented movies and music, and much more. It has come under much scrutiny over the years due to the CEO, Ozai Sozin, being a billionaire but paying his workers a barely living wage. Despite this, its popularity has never gone down. 

He’s glad that none of the people he is close to use the service, especially since his family has a personal history with the company. 

Ozai Sozin was a bit scary to look at. He’s tall and skinny and always wearing clean, expensive suits and shoes. He wears his hair long and in a top knot, his beard just as long but somehow it looked good. Despite his many “successes”, the man always seems to be in a bad mood. In interviews, he gives everyone cold looks and harsh answers. How people still support Ozai was beyond him.

Zuko, on the hand, was somewhat opposite to his father and sister. He was withdrawn and often in the company of his sister and her two friends. Even then he seemed to keep to himself. Considering his sister and her friends reputation, many stayed away from him anyways and formed negative opinions of him. 

Now Sokka didn’t know what to think of him. Though he never actively bullied anyone like his sister did, he never stopped it either. Plus, if he grew up in the Sozin household, he’s sure Zuko has some similar viewpoints as his father who is proudly conservative. 

_Yet Sokka still had the biggest crush on him._ It wasn’t his fault! Zuko is beautiful. He always wears dark colors which made his pale skin stand out which also caused his scar to stand out as well. Now, Sokka wasn’t trying to romanticize Zuko’s scar, he would never think to do so but he wouldn’t call the scar “ugly”. It made Zuko who he was considering that’s how he saw him on his first day of freshman year a few years ago. 

But as he watches the father and son continue down the hall, he’s shocked to see an expression other than a scowl or boredom on Zuko’s face. _Fear._

Sokka’s instinct was to go follow and stay close by, and so that’s what he did. He followed a few paces behind and hid around the corner of the empty hallway they stopped in.

“I did not raise an empty-headed, unintelligent son,” he hears a voice hiss out. 

“I-I’m sorry, father. I’ll study harder, I promise,” Zuko’s voice comes out in a whisper.

“Speak up when you’re talking to me, Zuko,” Ozai loudly states. 

“I’m sorry, father! I’ll study harder.”

“You should’ve studied hard months ago, not when you’re on the verge of failing!” 

“I didn’t realize. I should’ve kept on top of my studies,” Zuko utters.

A slap echoes through the quiet hallway, a soft gasp following. Sokka’s blood turns cold. He was afraid to know what caused the loud sound.

“You know better than to disrespect me. Look me in the eye while speaking to me,” Zuko’s father jeers.

“I’m sorry, father. I meant no disrespect.”  
He hears Ozai scoff and hears footsteps going down the hall. 

“Go and wait for me at home. I’m going to Azula’s appointment now. I’m sure she won’t be a disappointment,” and the voice fades out. 

There’s silence in the hall, the only sounds Sokka could hear is his own breathing. With a deep breath, he peaks around the corner. Zuko’s standing alone with two hands clenched beside him with his head down. 

Sokka debates comforting him. _It’s Zuko Sozin, we’ve never even had an actual conversation._ But he was clearly upset and Sokka felt a protective instinct come up. Taking a risk, he walks away from his corner and towards the other boy. By the time Sokka stands beside him, he still has yet to raise his head. 

He nervously reaches a hand towards Zuko’s shoulder but the moment his hand makes contact, Zuko shoots up and away from him. His right eye widens, clearly spooked from the touch. His right cheek is bright red and Sokka is sure it wasn’t a blush.

He feels anger simmering deep down but takes calming breaths. 

“Hey, Zuko. Whatcha doing here?” he asks, trying to appear casual. 

Zuko blinks at him and begins fidgeting with his oversized hoodie’s sleeves. 

“Um… I just got out of my meeting,” he voices. 

Sokka nods, “I just got out of mine too! Now I’m bored. And hungry. Hey do you want to go get lunch somewhere?” 

Zuko’s eyebrows scrunch up as he stares at him. 

“What, why? We’re not even friends,” he says with a frown.

_Crap. Of course he’d find it weird! He needed an idea._

“Ah, yes. Yes, I know that. But it's senior year and I want to try and talk to all my classmates before the year ends and that includes you!” _Genius._

Zuko’s frown deepens but after some moments, it disappears and he nods. 

“Okay then… um, I might be able to spare half an hour,” he offers. 

“Perfect! There’s this little tea shop called the Jasmine Dragon that sells really good food. They also have iced teas if hot tea isn’t your thing,” and he’s rambling. “But I’m assuming you might like it since I always see you with a thermal cup in class.”

Instead of Zuko appearing completely freaked out at the fact that he exposed his secret of sometimes staring at him in class, he let out a little laugh. 

_He made Zuko laugh._ Sokka wants to keep that little smile on his face forever. 

“I know which tea shop you’re talking about. My uncle actually owns it.” Then his smile melts away. “I actually haven’t seen or spoken to my uncle since junior year.”

“We don’t have to go there, there’s plenty of other places to eat,” Sokka reassures. He wants to get to know Zuko more and this might be his only chance. “Let’s figure it out in the car?”

Zuko nods and they walk towards the front entrance of the school.

“I actually brought my car… but I’m assuming you want to drive your car?” he asks. 

“If you want to drive, that’s fine! But I really don’t mind driving somewhere and dropping you back off here after we’re done eating,” he informs.

“Are you sure? I don’t want you to waste your gas on me,” Zuko says quietly. 

How did Sokka believe he was an asshole? Well, he didn’t think he was an _asshole_ specifically but he didn’t think he was this pleasant either. 

“Please, my dad gave me his Prius! I won’t be using much gas,” he says to put Zuko at ease. He hesitantly agrees and they continue their walk towards the dark blue Prius. Sokka opens the doors with the button and gets into the car, Zuko getting into the passenger seat. 

It was odd seeing him in his car but Sokka found himself enjoying the sight. He clicks the start button and buckles up. He reverses out of the parking lot and remembers they still haven’t chosen a place on where to eat.

“So, any ideas on where to eat?”

“Um, no. I’m sorry, I probably won’t be much help. My father doesn’t let me eat out very often unless it's at a fancy restaurant,” Zuko winces. “Not that I think you can't afford it! I just don’t think fancy restaurant food is great for right now.”

“Yeah, that’s more for when we go on a date.” 

They both pause. Sokka grips the steering wheel tight, afraid to look in Zuko’s direction. _Spirits, did he really say that?!_

“You would go on a date with me?”

Sokka loosens his grip on the wheel and stares at Zuko. He’s staring at him with wonder in his eye, his mouth open in shock. Surprisingly, he didn’t seem disgusted or angry. 

“I- uh, yes?” 

Zuko smiles, turning away to hide it. Sokka’s heart flutters because he still sees his smile and he wishes he could see it more often. He knows there’s lots of things to address before it reaches that point, however. Such as Zuko’s father.

They park near the pier and order some shrimp and chips along with two sodas, taking it back to the car to eat since it was a colder day. 

They talk about Sokka’s family, his career plans, and other funny stories he has. But they don’t talk about the other boy. Zuko does his best to change subjects and it’s just making Sokka’s suspicions rise. He knows he has to come clean about what he heard in the hallway earlier.

“Zuko, there’s something I have to tell you,” he starts. Zuko puts his soda down and looks at Sokka with concern in his eyes. 

“I heard what happened in the hallway earlier with your dad.” Zuko’s face goes blank, not displaying any emotion. “I didn’t mean to but I was worried for you, and I still am.”

Zuko stays silent for a few moments, deep in thought.

“So you only invited me to eat with you because you felt bad for me?” 

Sokka raises his arms, waving them back and forth. 

“What? No, no! Please, Zuko, this isn’t something I’m doing because I pity you. I really wanted to talk to you,” he pleads.

Zuko looks unconvinced and stares out the window to avoid looking at Sokka. 

“Zuko, please,” he practically begs.

“I don’t know, Sokka. I have to go home, I really don’t have time to talk about it right now,” he whispers. Not wanting to keep Zuko hostage or get him in more trouble, he agrees. 

As much as he didn’t want him to go home after what happened in the hallway, he has no official evidence that it was a continuous thing. Even then, he had no idea if Zuko even wanted to leave.

The drive back to the school is quiet, the parking lot a bit more busy than earlier. Zuko quietly directs him to his car, which was a black Audi. Just as Zuko was about to get out of the car, Sokka impulsively grabbed his wrist.

“Even if you don’t want to talk to me anymore, please take my number. Just in case,” he states, hoping Zuko will accept.

With a sigh, Zuko agrees and hands him his phone. Sokka put in his number and handed the phone back, watching Zuko get into his car and out of the school parking lot.

Sokka goes home feeling dejected. He knew it was best to be honest right from the start rather than keep it a secret for as long as possible, but sometimes doing the right thing hurt. He hopes Zuko will text him. 

And he hopes Zuko will be okay.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to make it three parts instead of two.. sorry for the long wait! I also have another Zukka story out called "Vultures" if you want to go and read that <3  
> TW:   
> Abuse

Sokka had his meeting on Tuesday and it was now Friday. He had yet to receive a text from Zuko. Though they didn’t leave things on the best of terms when they hung out on Tuesday, he had hoped the other would text him. It’s been four days and the only thing stopping him from hacking into the school system and finding Zuko’s address is that the boy is still showing up to school. 

If Zuko wasn’t at school, he would’ve been exploding with worry. Now, that’s not to say he isn’t worried.. because he is. He’s tried talking to him- he really has- but the second Zuko sees him heading in his direction, he bolts out of the room and disappears. 

Sokka had given up reaching out to him after two days and decided to let Zuko contact him first _but waiting was so difficult._

Even though they only spoke for less than half an hour, he missed him. Zuko was thoughtful and awkward, the complete opposite of what he had assumed. Sokka now knows to not judge books by their covers. _Even though he technically judged him by who he associates with which is **completely** valid._

So while he had some hope, Sokka didn’t _actually_ expect Zuko to message him. That’s why when he received a message from Zuko while doing homework before bed, he didn’t see it till a few hours later when he finished said homework. 

Sokka originally picked up his phone to text Teo that he finished the difficult AP Stats worksheet but instead found a message from an unknown number. His phone trembled against his hand as he swiped the screen to unlock it. 

_Zuko: Sokka? It’s Zuko. 7:32pm_

His eyes shifted higher on the screen to look at the time. 

_9:53pm_

Sokka cursed. It’s been over two hours since Zuko sent the text. _What if he thought Sokka didn’t want to talk to him?_

His fingers typed a reply, quickly explaining his reasoning for the lag.

_Sokka: this is sokka! sorry i’m barely replying, i was doing hw and got distracted. 9:53pm_

_Sokka: how are you?? 9:53pm_

He set his phone down on top of his desk, full volume on and waited for Zuko to reply. Not even five minutes later, a loud _ping_ rang through the room.

_Zuko: Not very good. Can we speak on the phone? 9:57pm_

_Sokka: yes. call me when you're ready. 9:57pm_

A few minutes later, the phone’s custom ringtone came through. He quickly answered.

“Zuko, hi. Are you okay?”

 _“Um, no. Not really,”_ he sniffled. 

Sokka’s heart breaks at the sound. It also freezes as he hears loud honking in the background.

“Zuko, are you not home? Where are you,” he asked feeling a bit worried. Though Seattle was relatively safe, certain areas were unsafe late at night. Considering Zuko was extremely rich and most likely lived in the Broadmoor area, he’s probably in a safe area nearby. As long as he wasn’t home. _Because despite Zuko living in the safest, richest neighborhood, the real threat was in his own household._

Sokka anxiously waited for his response.

 _“I’m in my car parked near Pike Place.. I thought of you and went there,”_ Zuko softly replied. 

Sokka practically melted at the words. However the fact that Zuko was in his car in the middle of the night raised some red flags. He weighed out options in his head before responding.

“Zuko, it’s getting late. Are you planning on going home,” he asked. 

_“He, uh- my father, he kicked me out…”_

“What? Why would he do that?” he paused. “Actually that doesn’t matter right now. Zuko, please come stay at my house.”

 _“Sokka, no. I can’t impose on you and your family,”_ Zuko protested. _“I’ll be fine, I have a bank account that my mom made for me before she left and I’ve been secretly depositing money in there for years. Plus I’m 18, I can stay in hotels.”_

“The thing is you don’t have to! You can save that money and stay here for free,” he tried to reason. Now the conversation from Tuesday was starting to make some sense. At first Sokka thought he was being thoughtful about his gas but the other boy really thought he was a burden. He most likely believed people shouldn’t do nice things or that he didn’t deserve good things. 

This was a lot to assume but based on the first and only interaction he saw of the father and son, he knew he wasn’t far off. 

_“I don’t know, Sokka. I really don’t want to be a bother,”_ Zuko murmured.

“You won’t be, I promise. My dads are used to my friends staying over and coming through all hours of the night, they won’t say anything. Plus they’re asleep right now. My sister won’t care either.” 

_“Okay… but just for tonight.”_ Sokka internally whooped, happy that Zuko finally accepted. He won’t argue with him tonight on staying for longer than a night. That’s a problem for the morning. 

“Awesome! I’ll send you my address through text.”

 _“I’ll text you once I’m outside, see you in a bit.”_ They hung up and Sokka messaged Zuko his address. He lived fairly close to Pike’s Place, a good amount away from the city and tourists. With this in mind, he knew the other boy would be arriving soon.

Sokka went into the hallway closet to grab a bed roll and extra blankets to prepare a bed on the floor. Although the makeshift bed was comfortable, it would be rude to make Zuko sleep on the floor while he took the bed. _He’ll sleep on my bed._ Once he finished setting up the beds, he took notice of the state of his room. Looking around, he grimaced at the slight mess. He grabbed the clothes that were on the floor and stuffed them into his closet, picked up all the crumbled pieces of paper and threw them in the trash, and finally opened the window to allow some fresh, cool air into the room. By the time he finished, his phone rang out with a text notification.

_Zuko had arrived._

He grabbed his phone and quietly went out the hall to the front door. Nerves started to kick in as he realized Zuko was going to be spending the night. It increased as the conversation from earlier played in his head. 

_“My father, he kicked me out.”_ What was he supposed to say to that? How does someone comfort another after being kicked out from their home?

He inhaled deeply and exhaled as he opened the door, ready to let Zuko in. The teen was still sitting in his car but got out after Sokka waved at him. The trunk door popped open when Zuko got near it and pulled out a small gym bag. Slamming the trunk closed, he made his way up the driveway to Sokka. 

“Hey,” he whispered.

“Hi. Let’s go to my room.” Sokka closed and locked the door behind them then led him into his room. The opened window left the room nice and cool, enough for it to be comfortable. 

“This is where the magic happens,” he said with a wave of his hand. He flinched, realizing how weird that sounded. Surprisingly, Zuko just let out a small laugh before putting his bag down beside the door and sat down on the bed.

“You can take my bed tonight.” Zuko straightened at the words. 

“No, no! I really shouldn’t. You’ve already done enough by accepting me into your home.”

Sokka shook his head. “It would be rude if I took the bed! Plus this bed roll is comfortable.”

“Fine. It’s only for one night anyways,” and the room went silent. As much as he wanted to give the other boy space after such an awful night, he knew he had to at least get some answers. He wanted to make sure the other was _actually_ okay.

Sitting down beside Zuko on the bed, he cleared his throat. How does one start a tough conversation like this one. Before he could get anything out, Zuko sighed and began talking. 

“My father has been mad since Tuesday because of what they said at the parent-student meeting and because I got back home a little late,” he began fidgeting with the strings of his hoodie. 

“He actually doesn’t want me to go to university. He thinks that because he’s taught me all I know about how to manage a company, that I should start managing a small team right after I graduate so I can be prepared to become CEO once he retires. He doesn’t trust the company to go to someone out of the family’s hands. I’ve never disagreed because at one point I actually did want to run the company. It wasn’t until junior year when I learned of all the horrific things that go on behind the scenes.

I thought that if I continued on that path, I could change the company’s policies and do better for all the workers once I became official head. Azula, my sister, actually found my notebook where I wrote about all the changes I’d implement and told me she wanted to bring good change to the company too.” 

Sokka made a face at the last part. _Azula wanting to do good? Seemed too good to be true._

“I know, I know. It certainly doesn’t excuse the things she’s done, or even the things I’ve done, but she acts that way as a cover. It sounds so stupid when said out loud.. but our father is used to getting called into the office for Azula, and he thinks that because of how she acts, she’d be a good president for the company. The spot is currently being taken over by this awful guy named Zhao,” he continued. 

Sokka contemplates all this new information. _So Azula is actually good but pretending to be bad? Or was she always bad but wants to do good now so is just pretending to be bad now?_ His brain hurt.

“You’re right, it certainly doesn’t excuse anything you guys have done, or well in your case, didn’t do.” Zuko’s face falls at the statement so he continues. “But I understand that you two probably couldn’t think of another alternative. It must’ve been a hard position to be in,” he sighs.

Zuko nods, “It was so hard.. we want to do good in the company for employees but in order to achieve that we had to do bad to our classmates.” 

“So what made him upset at your meeting?”

“Well, we found out that in some companies, the CEO is both the CEO and the president. After some talking, I decided that I wanted to actually attend university. Since Azula is ahead in all her coursework, she’s actually graduating with us and she decided she wants to take on my roll. We presented this idea to our father and he agreed. He even told us that he knew I wouldn’t be fit for the roll right away. However he thought I was going to university under a business degree so I could prepare even more to take a leadership role for Phoenix. 

The business program is difficult to get into so his exceptions of my grades became even tougher. I actually applied to schools as a political science major so I could become a lawyer for the employees in our company and actually got an early acceptance.. but I forgot about keeping up my grades to my father’s level. Basically the teacher showed him I had a C+ on my AP Chemistry class and he freaked out,” he said with a sigh. He raised his hand to his right cheek, clearly remembering the slap his dad laid on him.   
“Oh Zuko, I’m so sorry. First of all, I’m so proud of you for choosing to go to university and congrats on your early acceptance. Second of all, he should have known that the grades that the teacher showed him aren’t permanent. He shouldn’t have hit you,” Sokka reassured and then grabbed his hand. Zuko let him.

“He does know they aren’t official grades but in his mind, it just means I haven’t been trying,” Zuko whispered. 

“What happened today?” Sokka asked.

Zuko squeezed his hand. 

“He found my acceptance letter. I was at Mai’s house with Azula and during that time, he snooped through my room. He was so mad,” he muttered, eyes focusing on the floor. Sokka squeezed his hand back and rubbed his thumb along Zuko’s palm. It helped the other relax a little and come back to reality. 

“I wouldn’t even say we got into an argument. He did all the screaming, I couldn’t even get one word out,” and that’s when it hit Sokka. Zuko’s always had a nice rasp to his voice but hearing it now, it sounded rough. With his unoccupied hand, he reached towards the neck of Zuko’s hoodie and pulled it down slightly. The skin around his throat was red, light purple markings beginning to appear. 

“Zuko,” he gasped. The smaller boy lifted his hoodie higher, trying to cover what was already seen. “He can’t get away with this,” Sokka hissed.

Zuko flinched and pulled his hand away. 

“But he can! He’s so powerful, Sokka, you don’t understand. He’s done so many awful things that just get covered,” and the tears begin to fall. Sokka pulled him in for a hug and held him tight. They sat in silence on the bed, curled around one another. 

Sokka’s heart ached for him. If his dad hurt him for a bad grade and for an acceptance letter, he can’t imagine what else he’s endured in his life. 

He lifted his head off Sokka’s chest and continued with his story. 

“Anyways, he told me that if I wanted to ignore what’s best for me, that I should leave. I only had a few minutes to pack some clothes and a few other essentials.. then I left.” 

“I’m glad you left… I’m just sorry it was under these circumstances. I know it doesn’t make up for everything that's happened but if it means anything, I just want to say I’m so so proud of you. Despite everything, you still wanted to follow your own path and do political science because you care so much for the people in your family’s company. You are so brave,” Sokka said. And he really was proud of the other boy. 

“Thank you, Sokka. I don’t remember the last time I heard those words,” he smiled softly. 

After, Sokka showed Zuko the restroom so he could change into his pajamas and brush his teeth. While he changed in the bathroom, Sokka changed in his room and waited for him to come back so he could brush his own teeth. 

Zuko entered the room and he got a closer look at more of the boy’s skin. His hoodie was off and replaced by a short-sleeve band tee. His pale arms had a few scars running all over, and fading bruises in some spots. 

_He wanted to hurt Ozai._

He chose to ignore the markings for now and instead went to the bathroom to brush his teeth. When he came back, Zuko was already curled under his blankets and staring at the door awaiting his return. 

Turning off the light, he crawled under his own blankets and stared at the ceiling. A few seconds passed and a whisper broke the silence. 

“Sokka..?”

“Yes?”

“Um, I was wondering if you’d want to come up here? With me?” 

Sokka’s cheeks reddened but he felt so happy. 

“Yes! I mean… sure!”

He got up and got under the covers, facing Zuko. 

“Thank you, Sokka,” the other boy said and closed his eyes, breathing going even. 

Sokka closed his own eyes. They can fix all the problems tomorrow. _Together._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not proof-read


End file.
